Monday, January 11, 2010

Well with berries as the theme for the week I decided to check out the dessert section of the bookshelf and spotted a book that came with marriage. I cannot recall seeing it before and it is called Donvier Ice Cream by Irena Chalmers. It came with a hand- churned ice cream machine from the 1980s and had the subtitle “Homemade Ice Cream in 20 Minutes !” Well the Thermomix can do it in a couple of minutes.

The book has a surprisingly interesting collection of flavour combinations and ideas, including a macadamia nut ice cream à la Simca (an adaptation of a recipe from Simone Beck, who co-wrote Mastering the Art of French Cooking with Julia Child). There’s a gin and juniper berry sorbet, a pear & red wine sorbet, lychee sherbet and orange & campari sherbet. There are also frozen drinks suggested such as frozen margaritas and bellinis, and for the health conscious, there are lots of Lite suggestions.

So, this is a quick simple recipe more for those who do not use the Thermomix to see how easy making sorbets can be and for those with a Thermomix just to remind them that making sorbets helps keep the blades sharp.

It is a quick impressive dessert that can be whipped up in a few minutes when unexpected guests arrive. You can use various fruits and can substitute fruit juice or water for the liqueur.